Egypt Adventure – 15: Syria, Jordan…

(Written: 11-9-08)
Soooo. Now we’re in Syria! The male intern for our group wasn’t allowed into the country because of an Israeli stamp in his passport; he couldn’t get a new one before we left so there was always the possibility it’d end up that way but it still started our stay on a bit of a grumpy note :o(


The first day we went to the Krak de Chevaliers a crusader fortress! It was basically amazing and I want to live there :o) Seriously though, you would never believe how beautiful some of the Syrian countryside is – easy to see why it was fought over. After exploring the castle (featured in the movie Kingdom of Heaven) we went to dinner near the fortress and I would venture to say it was the best meal I’ve had all semester! It was AMAZING! Dad – the chicken….there are not words, only lip-smacking, finger-licking goodness!


Ok, moving right along…

After the castle we drove on to Damascus where we stayed near the Old City. It has been so cool to be in a place that really hasn’t changed much since Biblical times since it’s never been put to siege, etc… The main reference point we used for the city was Straight Street (see Acts 9:11) off of which we also visited what is traditionally held to be the Apostle Paul’s house. The old city has such a great feel to it and has thus far been incredibly restful as we all begin to gear up for our time in Israel.


One of our favorite pastimes has been buying movies in Syria because they are so cheap….yeah – more on that later ;o)


Yesterday we went to a “Hamam” - bathhouse (like a Turkish bath), which was definitely a bonding experience. Other than that it was such a neat experience to undergo bathing/massage/etc as they did most often in ancient times. There was a cold room, warm room, sauna, exfoliation, massage, and lots of laughter and relaxation :o)


(Written: 11-12-08)
Our time spent in Jordan was a random little blurb of about a day and a half most of which we spent at a resort on the dead sea! Craziest sensation I’ve had in a long time – floating with such ease…Basically I was transformed into a superhero :o)
It was gorgeous…



PS – sorry for the rushed feeling of all these blogs!

Egypt Adventure - 15: Istanbul, Turkey...

(Written: 11-11-08)
Well, I am currently sitting in a hotel room in Amman, Jordan but that is not where this story begins. For that, I must jump back 12 days to the day we arrived in Istanbul, Turkey.

What a change in pace! Stepping out of the airport you would think you were in a full-fledged European country and oh how beautiful is the color green!!! As we drove towards the Bosphorus waterfront (our first course of action before heading to the hotel) I felt as if I had entered a state of suspended reality. Gone were the honking cars, trash littered streets, pollution, and barren landscape. Rather, what greeted my starved eyes were cars driving in their own lanes and a beautifully landscaped city rich with a depth that only history can lend! The people also commanded attention, as they all seemed to have newly walked from the pages of a high-end fashion magazine.

Before a dinner of steaming baked potatoes filled with delicious tastes of the region we were ushered to a boat cruise on the Bosphorus in time for the sunset. I can’t even put into words the beauty of the city especially when viewed from the water – it felt like I was in a movie. The numerous mosques in the city with all their minarets and domes seem to have been made with sunset in mind – gorgeous! I’ve never liked a city so much so quickly and believe me, considering my ethnic background I wasn’t totally sure I’d feel comfortable in Turkey at all.
In that first day, I touched down on the continents of Africa, Europe and Asia!(Istanbul spans both the European and Asian continents) You certainly can’t say that every day!

It wasn’t long though before the Armenian issue came up in force and my reaction to it completely blind-sided me. I mean sitting in lectures given by really intelligent people in a context where there’s so much progressive thinking and action to be respected and to have them bold facedly deny any such events or minimize it and distort facts was pretty shocking. One of the hardest moments for me was in a circle of students discussing issues (there were a couple of Turkish university students in the mix also) and the issue came up. Promptly, one of our Turkish hosts denied the events and looking me in the face (probably unintentionally) said “I mean, it didn’t happen. There was no genocide.” That was all I could take and I promptly left the circle and rushed to the bathroom on the verge of tears, totally caught off guard by the strength and emotion of my response. As I’ve thought about it more and as our group has faced these discussions more it has become much easier for me to engage with and I’ve realized that it’s not really an issue of political recognition to me; in fact, in my understanding it would be unwise for the US to continue to press the issue of recognition at this time but what makes me sick is the outright denial of anything ever happening to the point that a Turkish citizen can look me in the face and presume to tell me what did or did not happen to my family. The psychological effect on society of not being able to face your past is no light matter.

There were many fun adventures along the way. One of my favorites was of an afternoon of creating “sensory memories” by walking through the grand Bazzar to get to the Spice market where the sights, smells, and tastes were delightfully overwhelming! After buying legitimate Turkish coffee and being surrounded by the enveloping smell of it I bought and ate (with a friend ;o) Turkish delight – delicious!

Getting out of Cairo and experiencing a different part of the region has been such a breath of fresh air! Particularly in the way a woman is able to engage in the society. It was so nice to feel that I could once again really thrive in my independence, getting around on my own and all that… Also, the differences in leadership, policy, history, etc between Egypt and Turkey are interesting to really get into and probe. The education system in particular intrigues me.

Anyway, obviously this blog can only begin to touch the surface and hardly that at all but I look forward to your questions and more conversations on the issues when I get back since Turkey in particular is such a fascinating country!

Egypt Adventure - 14: getting ready to travel the ME...

(Written: 10-27-08)
The first phase of my semester wrapped up this week which included Arabic final, finals in two of my other classes (Islamic Thought and Practice and Peoples and Cultures), and a Tabla concert for the rest of the students! It was a successful completion of stage 1 and even Tabla wasn’t terrible although the whole idea of performing does NOT thrill me :oP

We are now getting ready to head out on the “travel component” of our semester. We will spend 9 days in Turkey (7 in Istanbul and 2 in Ankara – the capitol), 3 days in Syria (Aleppo and Damascus), 1ish in Jordan (Amman), and 2 weeks in Israel (Jerusalem mainly)… I’m definitely looking forward to it but at this point of exhaustion staring a month of travel in the face with 29 other students, logistics, living out of a suitcase, etc. feels like a drain. We’ll see how things play out - as my mom says I seem to have quite a wanderlust in me and I am sure that once I begin the journey I’ll be thrilled :o) My plan is to do a blog after each country (maybe one for Syria/Jordan), until then – sayiida ma’a salaama!